Hello dear readers! Although I would like to, I haven’t been able to keep up with posting during the week. Thank you for sticking with me! I’ve never adhered to a strict schedule with this blog, but I think that for now, I’ll slow down a bit and post about once per week, mostly on Sundays because that seems to be the day when I usually feel productive and consistently have free time.

It’s been slightly dreary this week in Los Angeles, with temperatures dipping into the 50s – low 60s. It felt like a mid autumn day in the Northeast. Btw, I know how lucky I am to live here and no longer take this amazing weather for granted.

We went to Universal Studios this weekend. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid. Going in with low expectations, I ended up having a great time! But, it was cold, wet, and there was a lot of walking, so I wanted my outfit to be warm and functional.

As long time readers might recall, my old dry cleaners in NYC nearly ruined this coat by getting bleach stains on the sleeve. I tried to hide it with a green marker but I think the end result was worse than if I had left the stains alone. Frustrated by the stains, I stopped wearing the coat for a while, but decided to resurrect it for this occasion. I found that rolling up the sleeves just a tad hid the stains and looked stylish at the same time. Rolling up the sleeves didn’t make any sense on the East Coast because of the extreme cold. So I’m glad that in a warmer climate, I’m able to make this coat, which I paid a lot of money for, work again.

When I got back home, a box from Elizabeth Suzann was waiting for me at the door! My second pair of Clydes came! ES is still using the same beautiful decorative paper to wrap her garments. I always save the paper to re-use as gift wrap. I was a little nervous about how the pants would feel in cotton canvas. Would they be too stiff? Too bulky? Nope, they weren’t. I love them! They have more structure than the old twill version but don’t feel overly bulky. I like the way this version looks with the hem cuffed one time over.

I know it seems like every blogger owns these pants, and this was one reason I hesitated to buy a second pair initially. But, these pants are so freakin practical for work (I wear my black ones at least once a week), that I couldn’t really avoid it any longer. Plus, at this stage of my life, being unique and different isn’t as important to me as it used to be. I really don’t care if I look like everyone else as long as I like the look.

I sort of look like I’m wearing paper bags on my legs, don’t I? lol.

I’m really into non-skinny pants these days but still like a good tapered leg. Both the pants in these outfits are loose, but not too loose, and tapered slightly at the ankle. If you’re on the market for non skinny pants in the future, it’s useful to know that both these pants are classic styles that are made year after year by the brand.

Is everyone done tidying up for the new year? I did a mini closet clean out last week. My closet is already paired down quite a bit, so I only ended up donating two things to Goodwill: an old blazer and a pair of chinos that were both too small.

I enjoyed watching a few episodes of the Marie Kondo show on Netflix. It wasn’t amazing TV by any means, but it was entertaining and made me feel motivated. I read her book when it first came out a few years ago. Some of her techniques were helpful, others weren’t. I’ve never applied 100% of her method, but did find the movement she created really motivating. Since then I’ve been able to maintain a small wardrobe and a relatively clutter free home.

I gifted the book to my two sisters, who both had a lot of stuff at home. After reading the book, they both did major overhauls of their apartments initially, and have subsequently been able to maintain relatively clutter free homes over the last couple of years. So for those wondering if it works long term, it did for 3 out of 3 sisters over here.

Although I’m interested in minimalism, I wouldn’t ever label myself a “minimalist”, and I cringe at the idea of that to be honest, but I do equate having too much stuff with stress. My mom has a borderline hoarding problem and I grew up with a lot of clutter at home. Looking back on it, all that clutter caused my childhood to feel more stressful than it had to be. As an adult, I’ve noticed that I am very sensitive to my environment. I notice that I feel more relaxed and at ease in a home with less stuff. I think staying clutter-free is sustainable when you can pay attention to this feeling. Like with anything else, if you feel rewarded by it, you’re more likely to keep up with it, I think.

In other news, I’m almost done with furnishing my apartment. Over Christmas break, I visited the Nebraska Furniture Mart in Dallas. I had never been in one before, and I have to say, it was the biggest furniture store I’ve ever been in! It had way more options for home decor than any other single store I’ve ever been in. Most of the stuff was not my style, but there were a lot of gems at reasonable prices. I picked up a few home accessories: some decorative baskets, concrete plant pots, and a throw blanket. It all helped to warm up our apartment and tie everything together. Maybe in the next week or two, I’ll snap some photos and show you all what I’ve done. Stay tuned!